No Dental Experience?

[TK100]

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[doc toothache]

I am currently applying but do not have any experience yet. I am trying to get some at a local dental clinic. Should I just say on my app I have experience since I am hoping I can get some between now and till the deadlines.?.

Thanks for any help/

Yes. After all, honesty is not a requirement for the profession.

 

[y3nd0]

It's been addressed before that it's not ethical to list something you haven't done (like listing you have 100 hrs of shadowing that you haven't done but are planning on doing in the summer). They'll never check, though. So it's all on you if you have the conscience to put it down.

AADSAS allows you to list activities that are still ongoing (you need a start date but can leave the end date blank if you're still participating in it). So what I recommend you do (if you haven't submitted your app yet) is to get on the ball and get involved in a place where you can get experience ASAP and list it on your app. List the hours you have as 0 (or how ever many you have done by the time you submit) and then leave the end date blank. That way you're not being dishonest but are also showing schools that you are getting experience.

 

[Ionz]

Yes. After all, honesty is not a requirement for the profession.

/sarcasm

To OP: No, don't do that.

 

[Ostertag]

Are you applying to dental school with zero exposure to the field?

 

[jeffity]

I am currently applying but do not have any experience yet. I am trying to get some at a local dental clinic. Should I just say on my app I have experience since I am hoping I can get some between now and till the deadlines.?.

Thanks for any help/

You should go to dental school to get some experience. But really though, I'm feeling good that it's favorable, but not a bad thing if you don't have any. And not worth listing it with fingers crossed. Take care of shadowing and being sure this is the career for you and move on. If you can land something, great. If not, you'll get plenty of experience later. You wouldn't want to learn some bad habits from OTJ training or from some trade school anyway, right?

 

[syap]

So I only have about 30 hours of shadowing but I have about 130 hours working as a dental assistant since April. Does that look good or bad?

 

[asne0407]

Some schools have a required amount of hours of SHADOWING a dentist. Some schools do check as it gets into interviewing applicants..Its not that hard to call the dentist and ask how long you were there for...plus in the interview they can ask you questions and if you are BSing its also not too hard to tell. Its better to tell the truth on your app then to try and cover your tracks later...just saying